Woman in Energy Sector: A Step Forward Undertaken

While there has been progress in recent years to promote gender equality in Indonesia, the renewable energy sector remains largely male-dominated. Women's participation in the renewable energy sector in Indonesia is relatively low compared to their participation in other sectors. According to a 2018 report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), women make up only 28% of the renewable energy workforce in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia. Several barriers prevent women from fully participating in the renewable energy sector in Indonesia. These include social and cultural norms that limit women's access to education and training.

Under the ACCESS Project, UNDP Indonesia and Timor-Leste are working towards increasing the participation of women in the renewable energy sector. One of the key activities being undertaken to achieve this is the mainstreaming of local village women as operators of solar power plants in Indonesia and solar water pumps in Timor-Leste. To encourage greater female participation in the energy sector, the ACCESS Project has targeted female operators to participate in the training programs for PV solar power plant operation and maintenance. The ACCESS Project has collaborated with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) through the Human Resource Development Centre on Electricity, New Renewable Energy, and Energy Conservation (PPSDM KEBTKE) to train and certify 80 operators, with 40% of them being women from the respective target villages.

Rani is one of the female trainees from Muara Ripung Village, South Barito Regency, Central Kalimantan. She was initially unsure about her ability to participate in the training. She thought that operating and maintaining PLTS was a complicated task beyond her knowledge and capacities. "I don't have experience, while the PLTS operator will take care of electrical engineering. But my family motivated me; there must be a way if I want to work and learn," said Rani. After completing the training, she was more confident and hoped that she would contribute to her village community in Central Kalimantan which needs electricity.

Wulandari, another female trainee from Wangkolabu village, stated that being involved in such training is a new experience for her. “I have no idea previously, but I will try my best to learn. We got trained in a lot of electricity-related matters for solar power plants. Of course, this is not easy, but yaaayyy… I will learn,” she said when the ACCESS team met her. She acknowledged that she needs further guidance for implementing the skills and knowledge in the future as until now the construction is still in process. However, she believes that the village facilitator and ACCESS team will always be there to help and coordinate with her and with the village communities.

Andriah Feby, Director of Various, New and Renewable Energy, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, expressed her hope that female operators will contribute more to the energy sector in an equal way as male operators do in the future. “Looking at the female operators during the training, I hope they can motivate other women to increase their involvement in the clean energy sector," he said during the training implementation in 2022. EBTKE has noted the evidence from the training results, that the female operators can compete on a par with male operators in terms of their technical knowledge and skills.

The female operators are a great example of mainstreaming women’s role in the energy sector. The ACCESS Project provides opportunities and actively encourages women's involvement in activities in their villages. Gender equality is a commitment of UNDP Indonesia implemented in various ways, including increasing the role of women in decision-making and advancing women's access to non-traditional jobs. The ACCESS team provides GESI (Gender Empowerment and Social Inclusion) sessions before the training to equip the organizers and teachers. "After attending the gender session from UNDP yesterday, I am more aware of gender-biased things. It turns out that some things are often taken for granted," Ginanjar, the KEBTKE PPSDM trainer, expressed his impression after the session was completed. ACCESS also involves female teachers in technical training materials, debriefing, and motivational sessions.

While this initiative is being made, there is still a long way to go in promoting gender equality in the renewable energy sector in Indonesia. Efforts to increase women's participation in the industry must continue and be supported by policies and initiatives that address the specific barriers that women face.

*The original article has been published on the ACCESS website. The update was rewritten and published.

Author: Sugiyanto